Pantone announces its colour of 2019

The hue that is joyful and expressive.

Following 2018's dramatic Ultra Violet, Pantone's 2019 Colour of the Year is Living Coral, a coral-pink hue with golden undertones that is said to be a life-affirming shade that energizes and enlivens.

According to Pantone colour experts, the Pantone16-1546 Living Coral hue is one that bridges our technology-obsessed world with the natural one. The vibrant yet mellow tone was inspired from “the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life”, aiming to create “warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment”.

Executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute, Leatrice Eiseman announced Living Coral as the colour of 2019 late last week:

“Colour is an equalising lens through which we experience our natural and digital realities and this is particularly true for Living Coral. With consumers craving human interaction, the humanising and heartening qualities displayed by the convivial Pantone Living Coral hit a responsive chord.”

Furthermore, in a time of increased environmental awareness, the colour selection also demonstrates an appreciation for endangered natural beauty, serving as a gentle reminder to redirect our attention from the digital world toward nature. "Lying at the center of our naturally vivid and chromatic ecosystem, Pantone Living Coral is evocative of how coral reefs provide shelter to a diverse kaleidoscope of colour," reads Pantone's announcement. "This is a colour that, first and foremost, lends itself to nature," says Eiseman.